Child resistant packaging or CR packaging is special packaging used to reduce the risk of children accessing and ingesting hazardous materials. Current available CR packaging include features to make the opening of packaging more difficult by requiring more strength, for example, thick push-through foils, increased adhesion, greater resistance to tearing at notches, a special safety cap, and squeeze lock levers used with a zipper. Certain of these CR packaging can be problematic for adults or aged individuals.
CR packaging must meet the performance specifications outlined in 16 CFR § 1700.15 and pass testing as outlined in 16 CFR § 1700.20(a)(2)(iii). Currently, child resistant testing is performed with panels of 50 children ranging in age from 42 to 51 months. Children are instructed on how to open the package and that they may use their teeth. Eighty-percent (80%) of the child panel must be unable to open the packaging.
To determine if the CR packaging is senior-friendly, a panel of 100 senior adults ranging in age from 50-70 years are tested to open and close the CR packaging. To pass testing, ninety-percent (90%) of the senior adult panel must open and properly reclose the packaging.
CR packaging openable by applying greater force provides greater safety for children, but can present problems for aged individuals. Therefore, there is a demand for child resistant packaging that can be opened by adults including aged individuals without difficulty. The present invention satisfies this demand by providing an assembly in which an individual must perform a series of movements or steps in coordination or combination to access the package contents.